[foolfoolz]

- driving a car 1 mile to school is not ethical: who mined that ore? drilled for that oil?

- buying mass produced clothes is not ethical: who slaved for pennies to make that shirt?

- having a smart phone is unethical: cheap laborers build the components in arrangements they can’t exit

living in the 1st world is a world of hypocrisy. everything we do is possible because we have built on the backs of those less developed and outsource our costs so our living standard is high.

i accept this, do all the things above, and eat meat

[austhrow743]

Agreed on all fronts except for how this is somehow relevant to someone trying to be better.

Like yes, we're pieces of shit, right. I'm at peace with it as well. Do we really need to drag others down when they try to rise above though?

[shlant]

agreed. We have enough nihilistic, "all or nothing" thinking. There are almost ALWAYS ways to improve incrementally and the magnification of those improvements by many people cannot be ignored.

[sixstringtheory]

I think it's important to keep in mind that people can improve the situations you allude to without extreme measures and/or complete cutoff.

- if you're driving a car 1 mile each way, consider biking. consider biking one or more days a week, and use your car for the days you need to go on longer trips like for errands.

- buy higher quality clothing from reputable dealers that try to balance out externalities. learn how to repair clothing that fails, or pay someone who specializes in it. bonus opportunity to support a local business and a worthwhile trade/specialty.

- don't upgrade your smartphone every year. Apple iPhones can receive software/security updates for ~5 years.

- try cooking or purchasing a vegetarian meal once a week. try a vegetable you've never tried before. try to find a way to prepare a vegetable you traditionally dislike until you find a way that is palatable to you. (edit to add: try growing some vegetables, even just a basil plant or sprouts on your windowsill)

[shlant]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding...

It sounds like your position is "everything in the 1st world has a downside so why bother". It is certainly possible to live in a first world in a more conscious, less impactful way.